1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to liposomal oligodeoxynucleotides and a method of using the same in cancer therapeutics.
2. Description of the Background
Although a variety of anticancer drugs are presently used against the many forms of cancer, one of the major limitations of cancer chemotherapy is the lack of specificity of anticancer drugs for malignant cells. Due to this lack of specificity, existing anticancer drugs are distributed indiscriminately throughout the body when used, posing treatment-limiting toxicities.
Many of the drugs used in chemotherapy are natural products or derivatives thereof which either block enzyme pathways or randomly interact with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Others are cytotoxic in nature, which function by exploiting quantitative biochemical and kinetic differences between malignant and normal cells.
Similarly, antiviral agents which are designed to target viral-specific processes unique to infected cells, often cause an array of nonspecific toxic effects that limit their use.
Thus, a need clearly continues to exist for cancer chemotherapeutical agents which exhibit a high degree of discrimination between malignant and normal cells, and which cause a minimum, if any, of nonspecific toxic side effects. A need also continues to exist for antiviral agents which can target viral-specific processes unique to infected cells without causing an array of toxic side effects.